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Saturday, 28 May 2016

Cheilomenes propinqua nilotica Mulsant - Cyprus

Family: Coccinellidae

Cheilomenes propinqua is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae. The species adults and larvae, feeds on aphids.

Photos at Aradippou 20/5/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Many thanks to Michalis Michael for his help on finding the species.




Exochomus nigromaculatus (Goeze, 1777) - Cyprus

Family: Coccinellidae

Like many species of the Coccinellidae family, Exochomus nigromaculatus feeds on aphids on low vegetation and sometimes on trees and shrubs. Exochomus nigromaculatus larvae feed also on aphids.

Photos at Lakatamia 15/5/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 




Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) - 22-spot ladybird - Cyprus

Family: Coccinellidae

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata (often abbreviated to Psyllobora 22-punctata), the 22-spot ladybird, is a 3–5 mm long ladybird commonly found in Europe . Unlike most other ladybirds which feed on aphids, P. 22-punctata eats mildew especially from umbellifers and low-growing shrubs.  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Probably the first record of the species in Cyprus. 
Many thanks to Maria Stelikou for her help on finding the species.



Photos at Aradippou 20/5/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Friday, 27 May 2016

Andrachne telephioides L. - Cyprus


Andrachne is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phyllanthaceae described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is one of eight genera in the tribe Poranthereae.

They are monoecious herbs or subshrubs, native to semideserts and desert margins of the Americas, southern Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Linnaeus took the name from Theophrastus, but it is not clear to which plant Theophrastus applied the name.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Rizokarpaso 5/5/2016 by George Konstantinou









Thursday, 26 May 2016

Red mullet - Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758 - Κουτσομούρα -Στρίλια - Cyprus


The red mullet (Mullus barbatus) is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Marmara Sea, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean from Scandinavia to Senegal.

Underwater photos Protaras 25.05.2016 by Costas Constantinou


Siganus rivulatus Forsskål, 1775 - Άσπρη Κουρκούνα, Προσφυγούλα - Cyprus


Lessepsian migrants to Cyprus 

Siganus luridus and Siganus rivulatus, reported along Cyprus since 1929

Underwater photos Protaras 25.05.2016 by Costas Constantinou































Atlantic white-spotted octopus - Callistoctopus macropus (Risso, 1826) - Cyprus


Callistoctopus macropus, also known as the Atlantic white-spotted octopus, white-spotted octopus,  grass octopus or grass scuttle, is a species of octopus found in shallow areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the warmer parts of the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the IndoPacific region. This octopus feeds on small organisms which lurk among the branches of corals.

Callistoctopus macropus grows to a mantle length of 20 cm (8 in) with a total length of 150 cm (59 in). The first pair of arms are a metre or so long, and are much longer than the remaining three pairs. The arms are all connected by a shallow web. This octopus is red, with white blotches on its body, and paired white spots on its arms. When it is disturbed, its colour becomes more intense, deimatic behaviour which may make it appear threatening to a potential predator.

Populations of Callistoctopus macropus form a species complex found in the Mediterranean Sea, the temperate and tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is also present in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It lives near the shore at depths down to about 17 m (56 ft). Its favoured habitat is sand, rubble or seagrass meadows, and it sometimes buries itself under the sand.

Callistoctopus macropus is more fastidious in its diet than is the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), a species with which it shares some of its range and which feeds by day. Callistoctopus macropus, by contrast, feeds by night. Its method of feeding is to move from one clump of branching coral to another, often Acropora or Stylophora spp.. The octopus wraps its mantle around a coral head and probes with its arms among the branches, searching for the small fish and invertebrates that seek protection there. It has been found that a number of groupers (family Serranidae) and other predatory fish associate with the octopus when it is feeding, pouncing on small organisms that are flushed from the coral head by the octopus.

For many years, the breeding habits of this octopus were not known. Then a female was observed attaching short-stalked eggs, measuring 4 by 1.2 mm (0.16 by 0.05 in), to a hard surface forming a sheet of eggs. The female then brooded the eggs, caring for them by aerating them and keeping them clean. The female octopus stopped feeding at the time the eggs were laid and died soon after they had hatched, as is common among octopus species. The planktonic larvae which emerged from the eggs were each about 5.5 mm (0.2 in) in length with short, seven-suckered arms. They fed on zooplankton such as crustacean larvae.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos Protaras 25.05.2016 by Costas Constantinou



Apogonichthyoides pharaonis (Bellotti 1874) - Cyprus

Lessepsian migrants to Cyprus 


Apogonichthyoides is a genus of fish in the family Apogonidae, the cardinalfishes. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
This genus was separated from Apogon in 2010. These species are light brown to brownish black in color, often with dark elongated spots or stripes. There is usually a line on the cheek and two bars on the body. Some species have an eyelike spot on the side of the body
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia















1mtr deep,Protaras,25.05.2016 Photos by Costas Constantinou





























Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Valantia hispida L. - Cyprus

Valantia hispida is a species of annual herb in the family Rubiaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 0.05 m

Photos Nicosia 6/4/206 by George Konstantinou


Hedysarum cyprium Boiss. - Ηδύσαρον το κύπριο - Endemic to Cyprus


Endemic to Cyprus - Red Data Book category

Hedysarum (sweetvetch) is a genus of the botanical family Fabaceae, consisting of about 309 species of annual or perennial herbs in Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America.

Species within Hedysarum genus may be herbaceous plants or deciduous shrubs. They have odd-pinnate leaves, with entire leaflets (no notches or indentations). These leaves resemble the leaves of sweet peas. The stipules may be free or connate, and stipels (secondary stipules) are absent.

The inflorescences are peduncled racemes or heads. Bracts are small, with bracteoles below the calyx, and calyx teeth subequal. The petals may be pink, purplish, yellow, or whitish. Vexillum is longer than the wings, with an obtuse keel longer or rarely shorter than the wings. Stamens are diadelphous, 9+1, and anthers uniform. Ovary is 2-8-ovuled. Fruit is a lomentum, with segments that are glabrous, pubescent, bristly, or spiny. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Photos Nicosia 6/10/2011 by George Konstantinou




Duroniella lucasii (Bolivar 1881) - Cyprus

Duroniella lucasii inhabits various types of habitats like coastal dunes with humid and grassy depressions, wetlands, oases and other grassy and hot habitats.
Duroniella lucasii occurs in parts of Africa (especially in the North) and SW-Asia (especially in the Levant incl. Cyprus, Arabia). In Europe, it is known from Sardinia.

Photos Geri 29/9/2015 by George Konstantinou